Television reporters find themselves in the craziest of predicaments while on the job. Maybe you’ve seen ​the reporter covering flooded streets get completely drenched by a passing vehicle or nearly blown away when a hurricane sweeps through the area precariously closeby.
One television reporter broadcasting with Facebook Live on his station’s commercial page didn’t realize he had the filters on and viewers were treated to many different comical cartoon faces and poses.
A television reporter in Montana likely will find his broadcast blooper on a highlight reel somewhere. Deion Broxton with CNN affiliate KTVM was reporting at Yellowstone National Park recently when he noticed a very intimidating herd of bison rumbling toward him. The park is closed until further notice because of the coronavirus pandemic and Deion was reporting on that.
Deion’s camera was rolling, recording him outside of the park with its sign behind him. Off to his right was a herd of bison languishing. They were busy grazing while Deion began his spiel.
Suddenly, Deion’s eyes dart to the right toward the direction of the bison. Even though we can’t see the bison, his face tells us that they’re close by and drawing nearer — too close, in fact.
“Oh my God. Oh my God.”
Deion pauses for a moment and his eyes dart back and forth between the camera and the bison. You can see the poor guy debating what to do … take off sprinting out of fear of being trampled or hold perfectly still like you’re supposed to when some wild animals draw near.
You can see next what he chooses to do and it’s hilarious!
“Oh no, I ain’t messing with you. Oh no.”
Deion zips out of the frame in order to grab his camera, which is still rolling, and heads for his vehicle. The camera captures the outdoors, then the ceiling of the vehicle while Deion makes haste to get out of the way of the bison.
“Oh no. Oh no I’m not messing with you.”
Once Deion is in a safer place and out of the way of the powerful bison, he pulls out his camera and shoots video footage to share. They are huge!
Later on, Deion reviewed his footage and couldn’t help but laugh at himself. He decided to invite others to get a kick out of the situation, too.
He posted his encounter on Twitter where it’s since been viewed millions of times. With countless people home quarantined and practicing social distancing, it didn’t long before Deion became a meme.
Yellowstone National Park even tweeted that this situation was a perfect example of how to react when approached by wildlife and thanked Deion for putting the Yellowstone Pledge to act responsibly and safely into action.
The National Park Service also shared a simple diagram to show how far people should stay away from wildlife and each other. It was a hoot!
“Social distancing means avoiding large gatherings and maintaining distance (6 ft) from others. While we’re at it, remember to keep it at least 300 ft for larger wildlife.”
Bison are the largest land animal in North America and an adult male can weigh more than a ton. The National Parks Service says they can run up to 40 miles per hour and jump as high as six feet.
It’s true that they’re a wild animal and completely unpredictable. Humans must use caution at all times when in their presence. Last year, a bison charged a 9-year-old girl, who had gotten too close, and flung her into the air. The child was treated and released at a local hospital.
According to the National Parks Service, bison have injured more people at Yellowstone than any other animal.
Bison often spend upwards of 11 hours foraging in one day, so Deion might have inadvertently interrupted lunchtime when recording. Watch his hilarious reaction in the clip below. How would you respond?
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There was a herd of bison walking right toward me at @YellowstoneNPS today! pic.twitter.com/sdrBvojpwF
— Deion Broxton KTVM (@DeionNBCMT) March 25, 2020
